Summer Camp 2023 Pledge
It has been a long while since I have truly focused and done some worldbuilding on World Anvil. Last time was Summer Camp 2022. I wanted to participate in World Ember but I had a newborn and lots of new responsibilities. Those responsibilities are still present and my daughter is 9 months old but I have to find the time to do my hobbies as well. So instead of going for Diamond as I did last time I am aiming for Silver. I will not stop there if I am able to but Silver is my goal and I will be happy when I reach it.
I plan to flush out the only world I have present on here (for now) Ostyria. It is a world near and dear to me and in my mind I have been building it out since 2017 but there is so much more to it and so much still in my mind that I need to write down. Ostyria consist of 4 main continents and last Summer Camp I focused on 1 of those continents, Lanfe. This time around I want to focus on the continent of Iya, the newest continent I have thought of and a pretty unique one. I however will not limit myself to just Iya, if a prompt is more apt for another continent, I will write it, as to not put too much pressure on myself to shoehorn in an idea into Iya.
I also want to learn more about styling articles, I know how to add pictures I want to do more with layout, linking, sizing etc. This will take a little more work but I want to learn to do it (I will take any advice/suggestions).
I will add the Summer Camp Theme Preparation below each week and give broad ideas and answers to the questions.
Theme Preparation: Power
The first theme (and the copper prompts wave) is all about POWER, in all its different manifestations—physical power, political power, and more! For inspiration, we have a guide to creating power dynamics in worldbuilding. Here are some additional questions you can think about this week to prepare for the first prompt wave: Which are the powerful organizations within your world setting? Who are the powerful individuals? What kinds of power do they wield and what are their weaknesses and needs?
Power in Ostyria takes many forms, from the physical to the political to the magical, real and/or perceived. In Iya, the factions leading the charge into the great city, whether to cleanse it or obtain massive wealth and power, control everything and these factions are funded by wealthy individuals with their own desires. In Lanfe, the fiends are powerful due to their abilities and their quantity, they rule the continent and the purgers struggle against them daily. In Zoan, the Erojan are perceived to be the most powerful people as they interact and commune directly with the spirits, that live within them all and govern the laws of magic and the spirit realm. In Daunkh, the governmental bodies are the powerful ones. Regions like Kuu'land and the Heh'n Empire are ruled by all powerful Queens that have no real checks and balances placed upon them. Philae is governed by a council partially elected by the people and guilds. Power in Kala-Kau is split between the merchant lords that control various islands. In Apeti, power among a tribe can be based on physical strength or the largest family, there is a spectrum.
For Duankh in particular there is an organization known as the Circle that is a group of powerful mages. They work together to solve problems that they deem too big for one nation. They are considered pioneers in the arcane space with some of them having invented magic that has its own classification. They however are seen as threats to some nations and therefore are no longer able to operate freely in them. They are very secretive and hold a lot of knowledge collectively, because of this losing a member can be detrimental to not only the group but Duankh as a whole.
Theme Preparation: Frontier
The second theme, for the silver prompts wave, is Frontier! Frontiers are boundaries between things, borders—but the word also has a connection to the edge of the “known world”. Frontiers are worldbuilding gold, so we’ve put together a deep dive about using frontiers in worldbuilding! Here are some questions you can use to get started: Where are the frontiers in your worldsetting? And why would anyone want to go there?! What about metaphorical frontiers, like the “frontier of medicine” or space, the “final frontier”?
Ostyria has a few locations that I would consider physical frontiers and there is a few subjects of study that can be considered frontiers. Of course this is different between the various continents but there is one at least one frontier that is shared among them although it presents itself differently to each continent.
For Iya, the largest frontier is the nation itself. Although once the bastion of civilization, Iya is now a landscape overrun by many different planes of existence and they remain largely unexplored. The Federation largely controls the exploration of Iya controlling the means and who is able enter.
For Zoan, the largest frontier is the Corrupted Lands, an infamous land to the east that most Zoans steer clear from, but lately some perceived bad actors have taken up residence on the borders or further in. The Corrupted Lands remains largely unexplored and uninhabitable as the corruption seeks to transform any living thing it touches. A non-physical frontier for Zoan is the study of Animus and the Eidolons, the spirits that dwell within all Zoans and the spirits of nature that represents the elements that are all around.
For Lanfe, the surface of the continent itself could be considered a frontier but one of the more dangerous frontiers is the Depths. The underground of Lanfe, only a few civilizations are present in the Depths but it remains unexplored and extremely dangerous due to the Depth Crawlers and other beings that thrive in the darkness. There is also a non-physical frontier, an arms race between humanoids and fiends, the race for Infernal Machine supremacy. It started with the humanoid species learning to alter RIMs and now the fiends are attempting to harness their soul power in other ways.
For Duankh, the greatest threat and frontier is the Great Chasm, the scar left on the world after during the Planar Convergence after the fall of the World Serpent. The Great Chasm is where the worlds aberrant creatures are spawned and none who have gone into the chasm have ever returned. Apeti, the region that borders the Great Chasm directly, is a wasteland-ish place with tribes of various species all struggling to survive. A non-physical frontier in Duankh is the Magic frontier, Duankh is the only continent where Arcane, Divine, and Primordial (Nature) magic is heavily prevalent everywhere, and mages of all sort want to become the best of their craft and be considered a pioneer in the magic space.
These are but a few frontiers as I am sure the prompts will squeeze out a few more or help me flush them out better.
Theme Preparation: Relics
Relics are the remnants of past ages, and they’re a great tool to show your world’s history, as well as cultural values, in the present. After all, if something has been preserved throughout history, it means people consider it to be important! We wrote a blog post about relics and history in worldbuilding so you can get some inspiration for this theme. Here’s a couple of questions you can use to get started too: What aspects of the past are revered today in your world setting? Which peoples are remembered? And which are forgotten, and why?
This is a very exciting theme as I have been thinking about this a lot especially when it comes to Iya, the smallest continent on Ostyria but the continent with the most historical importance/preservation. I will try to establish a true timeline of major events for the world and the various continents as a part of the effort this theme and the others.
I will not go into a lot of detail here but before the present time, in Ostyria, was the Age of Miracles, all beings were gifted a sliver of divinity in an attempt to save the world from destruction. During this age, technology flourished, not super high-tech but way more advanced than presently and also during this time people who invested heavily into their new found abilities were able to achieve greater feats, including ascension to godhood. Unfortunately due to the Planar Convergence most of the technology, records and histories of his age have been lost but one place in Ostyria was able to maintain a handle on the past.
Iya was a bastion of civilization during the Age of Miracles and housed the largest repository of knowledge in the world at the time. This repository was not spared during the Planar Convergence but it was not completely lost. The people of Iya have spent a millennium recovering any relics and records of the past from the repository and from other areas of Iya. The Federation now controls most of this research and analysis and have dubbed technology from the previous age, Miratech (for Miracle Technology).
The other continents of Ostyria may have Miratech though in much smaller quantities and they are ignorant of the truth of them and divinity they once held.
Other relics in Ostyria include but are not limited to armaments from the gods forged during the Planar Convergence, prismatic artifacts, songs of old, and ancient spells.
Theme Preparation: Communication
Communication is an essential tool for societies, and it includes way more than just language! And as worldbuilders and storytellers, communication systems and the flow of information can be a great tool for showing the mood and themes of your world, and creating great plot points. Check out our worldbuilding communication blog post, and use these questions to get started: How do people and organizations from different backgrounds or cultures communicate with each other? How does communication happen over short and long distances? Who in your setting communicates secretly or carefully, and how?
This theme was highly unexpected and has sent me on a brainstorming spree. Given that Ostyria is a fantasy world, magicial communication is a thing but the homework and article on communication bring up great questions about the accessibility of this magicial communication.
So unlike the other preparation prompts, I don't have much in this area yet. Some things I know for sure are in the nation of Kuu'land on the continent of Duankh since magic is banned one primary way of communication is messenger drakes, small drakes that can fly, used mch like carrier pigeons.
The continent of Iya, is controlled by the Federation and after discussing with one of my closet friends, we came up with the idea of 1. magicial communication being controlled by the Federation and 2. there being certain people who can innate decipher the true meaning behind certain written words and spoken words almost like natural decrypters.
For Lanfe, I can imagine magicial communication between mages being very rare. For RIM caravans though I imagine being a message runner is a highly sought after job, given that they have to traverse multiple RIMs and brave the possibilty of falling off or encountering fiends on the borders.
In Zoan, I think the winged-folk have a system to deliver messages to the various clans and locations. Also there may e some Erojan who can communicate via their animus, as well as speak the language of the eidolons.
Final Thoughts
I have been updating this article every week and using it almost like a journal of my thoughts on the varying prompts. I am very excited for SC 2023, to expand this world that I love and to experience other campers worlds. It's always a learning experience and I am glad I feel like I am back in the worldbuilding zone. My preparation responses will be used as guides for the prompts to come, I know there will be some curve balls in there but I am ready to stretch my imagination to make things work.
Best of luck to all those participating in SC 2023, happy camping and happy world building!
Summer Camp Camp Chill Badge
Nnie's Camp Chill Guidelines
(Shared with permission from Annie Stein. Read her thoughts on 'Camp Chill' on her Camp Pledge.) If you'd like to repost this badge, add [imgblock:4574878] or [img:4574878] to your article.
If you'd like to repost the guidelines, Amy Winters-Voss made a block version you can use by adding [block:1050823] to your article.
God bless and much success with your plans! Do take care of your family and yourself. <3
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